10 Ways to deal with Morning Sickness

You Have morning sickness? Here are a few tips to deal with it. Morning sickness is also referred as nausea or vomiting. However unpleasant it may be, one reason to dislike it less is that it’s the first sign of pregnancy! Morning sickness occurs because of an increase in progesterone and growth hormones which makes it difficult for the body to keep acidity at bay. While it usually occurs in the morning – hence the name – it can actually happen at any point in the day.

It usually starts by the sixth week and it’s at its peak by the eighth or the ninth week. It ends for some women by the twelfth week of pregnancy.

Morning sickness does not harm you or the baby. On the contrary, it’s a healthy sign because it means your placenta is developing well. But in case you are constantly vomiting and not able to hold anything down, it’s possible you have hyperemesis gravidarum (a pregnancy complication characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, and weight loss) in which case you need to consult a specialist to treat it.

You can control your morning sickness to an extent. It all boils down to your lifestyle and eating habits. Morning Sickness.

Here are some tips to control morning sickness:

1. Water – stay hydrated. Water is a natural burner which improves metabolism and aids in better digestion. Keep sipping water through the day so it gets absorbed well and helps flush out toxins from the body.

2. Ginger – This is the most common herb found in all Indian kitchens and most effective for digestion. You can even have a dried ginger candy first thing in the morning to combat acidity.

3. Peppermint has also shown results in fighting nausea. You can inhale peppermint oil or have some peppermint tea with a little honey first thing in the morning.

4. Vitamin B6 helps in digestion and absorption of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and helps keep your acidity at bay. It also plays a critical role in the development of your baby’s brain and nervous system. An adequate amount of B-vitamins will help you have a smoother pregnancy. You can also find vitamin B6 in foods such as lentils, bananas, soybeans, chickpeas, wholegrain wheat etc.

5. Removing a lot of fat from the diet to avoid gaining any weight is not necessarily a good idea as that can cause your blood sugar to fluctuate, which in turn can lead to nausea or you feeling giddy. For a pregnant woman, a healthy diet is one where fats make up 30% of her daily calorie intake.

6. Avoid extremely hot water baths and alleviate any strong odors from your environment as these can lead to nausea.

7. Rest well. Overexertion can make you feel low and that can lead to nausea. It’s a chain reaction, so make sure you get eight hours of sleep every night and a 15-20 minute nap after lunch (if you can manage that).

8. Eat small frequent meals instead of large meals. Break down each meal into two parts so your body is able to digest and absorb the nutrients.

9. For some lemon is a bliss and works best in form of a lemonade but for a few, it might add to the acidity. If you’re in the latter category, have coconut water instead. You could even try squeezing some lemon juice over your food or fruits (and add some rock salt/kalanamak on that.

10. Include Probiotics – best available in the house is curd. It helps neutralize your body.